Bryan Adams

Catch famed Canadian musician, humanitarian and new dad Bryan Adams as he returns home to rock B.C. on Father’s Day weekend (at Rogers Arena Saturday; also in Kamloops Sunday). More classic sounds? Revisit those Pink Houses with John Mellencamp, who is heading east with the Cowboy Junkies (in Dawson Creek Saturday and Abbotsford Tuesday). More the contemporary kind? See favourite B.C. pop band Hey Ocean! at the Vogue (Saturday), or South African superstars the Parlotones at the Biltmore (Saturday).

Dragon Boat Festival

Cheer on nearly 200 teams as they furiously paddle down False Creek at the 24th annual Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival – the largest in North America – then take in world music from Latin funk to Afro-Fusion, try your hand at dumpling making and sample foods from around the world.

Reading the Riot Boards

Revisit the chaos of the Stanley Cup riots, and the outpouring of civic outrage that followed, at Reading the Riot Boards – a museum exhibit that has 15 of the message-covered plywood boards that were on damaged downtown businesses (at MOV until Sept. 30)

Velopalooza

Haul out your two-wheeled steed and choose from over 100 bike-friendly events including morning masses, bike camps, vintage bike swaps, water gun bike wars, polo in the park, a French-themed ride and picnic, and even screenings of erotic bicycle movies (through July 2).

Pam Ann

Check that your seat is in the upright position for Pam Ann, the hilariously raunchy flight attendant alter-ego of Aussie comedian and gay icon Caroline Reid, who came up with the character at a drunken costume party (at the Playhouse).

Cinémathèque Open House

Get an inside peek at a projection room, take a film library tour, bid in a poster auction, nibble on hot popcorn and say hi to Hal at a free screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey as Pacific Cinémathèque opens its doors for its annual open house (Saturday).

Macbeth

So foul and fair a day you will see as the witches prophesize and the blood spills in Bard on the Beach’s production of Macbeth (until Sept. 20). For theatrical fun in the Interior, head for a special Father’s Day edition of Caravan Farm Theatre’s Market Day and Costume Sale, where you’ll find a local market, live music and wagon rides, and can pick up a whole new persona for $1-3 at the costume sale (Sunday).

Seek the Peak

Get those quads humming as you race from the West Van waterfront to the peak of Grouse at Seek the Peak, a fundraiser for Rethink Breast Cancer (Sunday, seekthepeak.ca). For more heart-pounding action, join the Relay for Life at the Olympic Oval, or lace up for the Saunders Subaru Triathlon in Victoria (Sunday).

Family Fuse Weekend

Let the kids loose at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Family Fuse Weekend, where they can make like Matisse and paint en plein air, learn bhangra dance and music, and build a 3D shadow puppet, then kick back in the Family Film Lounge. Want kid-themed fun with altitude? Hit Whistler’s Family Adventure Zone, which opens Saturday.

Festival d’été

As they say, “It rains a lot in Vancouver, but it’s a dry rain” – so soak up a little liquid sunshine and head for Festival d’été, a fun franco fest where you can catch children’s performer Monsieur Bémol, live music by Alpha Yaya Diallo and Les Cowboys Fringants, and next weekend, an electronic dance party in Stanley Park (until June 24). Then head for Surrey Fest Downtown where kids can B-boy battle and try out sumo suits, and the whole gang can take in live performances from bhangra to Beatles covers (Saturday). Or check out Point Grey Fiesta, which comes with a pancake breakfast, a parade and a carnival with rides and midway games.

Plywood Cup

See what happens when teams are given two sheets of plywood, a piece of 2x2, a roll of duct tape, some nails, a hammer, a saw, 90 minutes and water as competitors head across False Creek – or not – at the charity Plywood Cup (at Granville Island Saturday).

Medicine Wheel Ceremony

Remind summer that it’s welcome to arrive any day now as First Nations members mark the change of the season with a Medicine Wheel Ceremony and potluck lunch at the lovely VanDusen Botanical Garden. Bring a small stone to bless and a food item to share (Sunday).